Most optical fiber connections are effected by embedding the fiber ends in a cylindrical sleeve, polishing the fiber ends, and inserting the prepared ends into an alignment ferrule, which optically and mechanically mates the fiber ends along a common axis. The connector ends may be attached to the ferrule by, for example, threaded or bayonet-type coupling nuts.
The connectors and connection methodology of the prior art exposes the fiber ends to damage or contamination. As a result, added effort must be expended to protect, clean and maintain the ends. Further, threaded or bayonet-type coupling nuts are not compatible with many optical backplane applications since access to connectors is often not possible. Frequently also, large spring retention forces are required to maintain the fiber ends in aligned contact in the presence of mechanical shock or vibrational energy.
The difficulty of adapting the conventional optical fiber connector technology to making gang or array connections is another drawback, especially in the connection of fibers in a backplane. For example, the popular v-groove fiber connector allows high density interconnection, but is susceptible to misalignments of the fiber ends. The current gang-type backplane optical fiber connectors are limited typically to two dozen or fewer interconnections, which is far fewer than needed for many applications. Further, as with the simpler fiber connectors, the current backplane optical fiber connectors do not sufficiently protect the fiber ends, tend to be expensive, and require high retention forces to meet shock and vibration conditions.